58' Mr. A. II, Evans : ivith the [Ibis, 



presence of Sunday lioliclay-makers and the few hours at 

 our disposal. But we had no reason to complain of our 

 fortunes in other respects. First, we were shown a previous 

 year's nest of the local Lyre-Bird {Menura superba), which 

 was in a state of good preservation ; it was built among 

 low vegetation on steep ground just below the brow of the 

 actual bank of the river and was quite accessible. Such 

 appears to be the natural site for the bulky domed structure 

 of stick, bark, and roots, which is fairly easy to see at close 

 quarters, but difficult lo find in acres of scrub. In many of 

 the districts, however, that this splendid bird freqtients, 

 discovery is made more simple by its acquired habit of 

 building in the head of a tree-fern, where foxes are less 

 likely to hunt. Midday is not the proper time to hear the 

 Lyre-Bird and admire its powers of mimicry, which it 

 exercises chiefly in the early morning and evening; so we 

 considered ourselves fortunate even to hear its notes in the 

 distance, as we did on our return journey to the station. 

 Later it will be seen that I had full compensation for my 

 disappointment when 1 visited the Poowoug country in 

 Gippsland. 



We spent a considerable time in a subsidiary gidly 

 looking for a new nest, as a pair of i)irds commonly came 

 to feed there with the custodian's fowls in the early part of 

 the day ; but we were unsuccessful both in this respect and 

 in our attempt to locate a pair of Coach-whip Birds, which 

 were unusually silent and characteristically skulking. Taking 

 a boat we then rowed quietly upstream for nearly a mile, 

 and were rewarded by the sight of a Blue Kingfisher 

 (^Alcyone azurea) sitting motionless on a low bough, where 

 it displayed to great advantage its azure upper and orange 

 under surface ; we also disturbed a couple of Black- 

 throated Grebes [Podiceps nova-ho/landia) at a bend in 

 the stream, and had an excellent view of the uncommon 

 Wonga-wonga Pigeon [Leucosarcia melanoleuca) stealing up 

 the sloping trunk of a falling tree. AVe lunched on siiore 

 at a spot well siiuated for bird observation, and there 

 searched other gullies and banks without coming across 



